Two ways to reassure your readers and build trust

Two ways to reassure your readers and build trust

A couple of copywriting tips tucked in #HaikuMondays. Over on LinkedIn several of us post a haiku every Monday. If you don't remember from your high school English class, a haiku is a poem with 5 syllables in the first and third line and 7 syllables in the middle line. 

I love the challenge of putting them together and using the poem to deliver copywriting tips. Recently I used my Monday posts to talk about the importance of taking on risk by your guarantee and using social proof to let your readers know your offer isn't risky.  

The importance of guarantees 

Want more sales next launch?
Offer a money-back guarantee
Take on all the risk

—----------------

This past week I’ve been engaged with a client in an ongoing dialogue about what the right guarantee is for her newest offer.

When a reader is looking at your sales page, even when they really want to buy, they’re struggling with the idea of risk:

Will this work for me?
Can I actually do this/get this transformation?
Is this actually just a scam?
Can I trust you as the expert to do your part?
What if this is just a waste of money?

There are several elements an expert copywriter will bring to your sales page to overcome objections like these.

One of the easiest is the guarantee.

When you, as the business owner, are willing to take on the risk, it gives your audience confidence in your program.

The bigger the guarantee, the more confidence.

So why wasn’t I advocating for a “risk-free, no questions asked, money-back guarantee” with this particular client’s offer?

Because her offer wasn’t a typical program or course. It requires HER time dedicated to a single client to complete the offer. Time she can’t get back if the client is unprepared to do their part. Time that limits her ability to market her services or help other clients while she’s working for a booked client.

In her case, a big guarantee may not be the best option. So we’ve talked about the pros and cons of each option (and I gave her 4 different strategies to consider!).

And she may decide to go with a money-back guarantee right now until she gets testimonials and reviews from satisfied clients to show new readers this isn’t a risky offer.

Ultimately, it’s her business and her decision. But she isn’t making it in a vacuum. She has all the knowledge she needs to make the best decision for this offer.

It’s one reason I love being a strategic partner with my clients. I get to know their businesses, their styles, and their offers.

Many of those clients start with a Fantastic Flight Plan - nailing their messaging and the strategy for a launch, offer, or next quarter in their business. This is one of my favorite services to offer - we do a deep dive together on a Zoom call and then you get to go do whatever you do best while I develop your messaging strategy. Then you can take it and run with it yourself, hand it off to a team member, or hire me to do the actual writing.

And, if you’re launching a new offer, you know the guarantee will be something we discuss!

Why you want testimonials in your copy 

Social proof helps sales
We’re wired to follow the crowd
Use your testimonials

—-----------------

Last week’s Haiku was all about absorbing the risk from your reader with a guarantee. This week’s “copy tip inside a haiku” is a companion to the guarantee - social proof.

In the online space, social proof is almost always accomplished through testimonials, reviews, and showcasing client success stories.

For example, what do you see when you read a testimonial like this one from my client, Danielle Levy, The Boardroom League founder:

"As my business grew, I had tried several copywriters and found myself in a lurch. I was facing a launch, anxious because the copy deadlines had passed and nothing was completed. The project felt completely out of control. Once I met Sharon and we started working together, she inspired confidence and reliability. She wholeheartedly supported the project strategically and tactically while improving the copy and content each step along the way. There was no drama or negativity when questioning current or past decisions; Sharon was always a complete professional and trusted confidante and I feel truly supported in a way that I’ve felt with very few other team members (ever!)."

If you’re looking for a copywriter to support you and your team, who works alongside you as a strategic partner, and who can support you during a launch or during your pre-launch (i.e., all the time you aren’t in a launch), this testimonial shows I may be a good fit for you.

Testimonials are also great to let your readers know that someone like them got results and you can too.

The more testimonials, the more details about how you work with clients and how they got results, the more you build trust with your reader.